It has been five years since the Social Welfare Department (SWD) disbursed a scholarship amount of Rs 11,321 to Mumbai University (MU) to be handed over to a reserved category student — Viraj Pandagale — for his one-year (2013-14) Masters course. The money is yet to reach him. He has completed his PhD and also works in a temporary position in the varsity, but his fight for the scholarship continues.

According to the rules mentioned in the Constitution, reserved category students are entitled to grants from the SWD to pursue their higher studies. Like many others, Viraj too was supposed to get scholarship for his Masters in Education (M.Ed.) course, which he completed in 2013-14. As per the process, the SWD disbursed the scholarship to the university in 2015 with the instructions that it had to be handed over to the student concerned. However, at that time, Viraj did not have much clarity on the status of the money.